What would it take to construct, populate and maintain a saltwater aquarium in your home? Understanding the hardware and chemicals would be challenging enough, but the most important aspect of the project – the fish – would require the most research. If you plan on housing more than one species in the same tank, you must know if they can peacefully cohabitate.

We are not unlike those fish, save one key difference: We believe all ethnicities and races can peacefully cohabitate.

These five short days mark ACU’s annual Social Justice Week. Students will hear challenging – and perhaps foreign – perspectives from guest speakers and have the opportunity to respond at several forums. We commend the university for organizing these opportunities, but students must understand these activities only lay the foundation for change.

Although discussion is necessary, it is only research. Consider recovery programs that require you admit your problem before receiving further treatment. Discussion increases the visibility of an issue and ensures individuals have an array of perspectives while strategizing.

Some students already are taking the next step in social change. Between 65-75 people – some of them ACU students – meet weekly in GV Daniels Recreation Center to share ideas, but this diverse group, Da’Cypher, is not satisfied with talk. On MLK Day, members marched across the Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge in Abilene, making what Da’Cypher founder Robert Lilly called their “service announcement.” Lilly said the group believes Abilene communities can change can change through relationships service and outreach projects.

Those brave enough to invade comfort zones will make mistakes. We must be resilient enough to forgive when others offend or insult us in their efforts. We must remember the impact childhood events have on our adult selves and be willing to empathize with others’ experiences.

If we do not focus on these weaknesses, progress will reach a standstill. Individuals will withdraw to their familiar shells and comfortably discuss the world outside. It requires conscious effort, especially on our campus whose pervasive Christian atmosphere can give a false sense of character.

The biblical account of the Tower of Babel illustrates the immense power of humans working together for a common goal; the U.S. Senate illustrates the destructiveness of groups working for their own gain.

We cannot give up this fight. Listen, learn and let this week’s opportunities energize you – not satisfy you.